Life is interconnected and so are the topics on this blog. It might be cooking and gardening one day, yoga the next, knitting and sewing, or hiking and then bird watching followed by recycling or composting. They are the parts that bring humble joy to my life of voluntary simplicity in Montana.

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Thursday, April 26, 2012

A Montana Grown Pineapple

It sounds crazy, right? I mean, pineapple just don't grow in Montana. We're pretty far from anything resembling "tropical." But, leave it to Matt to want to try something crazy like this. He loves to grow anything slightly extraordinary...like purple potatoes, black tomatoes, red carrots...and pineapples in Montana. He's been talking about this since we first spotted one fruiting in a local gardening store. "Is that a pineapple?!" we asked. The employee looked at us like "Um...yeah, what else could it be?" It was small, about the size of a grapefruit maybe, but still, a fresh and local pineapple....Matt was highly intrigued.

We'd tried a couple of times, quite unsuccessfully, in the past year. It
takes a leafy top that is fresh and very much alive, but frequently by
the time the pineapple fruit is golden, ripe and ready to eat that top is
starting to die off. Thus, the roots never formed before the plant died. But, the third time is the charm we hope. I'll
let you know in like two years! (I hear that is how long it takes
before the plant fruits.)

This is about 2 months of root growth. We planted in soil it right after this photo.

We just carefully cut off the leafy top when we cut up our pineapple
and placed it into a wineglass filled with water to root. And slow and
surely it did root. And the green part didn't die! It seemed like it was only going to root on one
side at first, but eventually the other side got to business too. It
took about two months from the date we started for the roots to be
several inches long all around the base. We then transplanted it into
soil in a little pot where it now resides.

Maybe pineapples don't belong growing here, but I bet if we actually end up with one it will be out of this world awesome. I mean, even a fresh pineapple in Montana had to be picked and shipped here from a great distance. This would have to be the freshest I've ever had, albeit probably the smallest, too. I absolutely adore the taste of fresh pineapple and it is so fun to experiment with new things. So, win-win.

8 comments:

Since Matt likes to grow unusual things, ask him what his favorite heirloom bean is. I would like to know what he thinks.

I have been pouring over books, magazine articles, old Seed Saver Exchange books, and Steve Sando's Rancho Gordo Heirloom Bean Grower's Guide. I am amazed, astounded, and overwhelmed by the varieties, the tastes, the colors of these older varieties of beans. It's a whole new world. (That's the long explanation for the question.)

Pineapple in a casserole, huh? I'd have never thought of such and thing. But, fruit is a good addition to savory kind of things...I just don't think to do it often. I had this peach flavored brown gravy once that was heavenly.

I have had several pineapple tops that I intended to grow, but with limited energy, I just never got one in the ground. I researched it. there is a very specific way to scrape off all the pineapple on the bottom and get it ready to grow. I just never did it.

It looks like Matt did. ??? Roots are a good sign!

I had a plan for free pineapples--get one top per month and plant. Do this for about two years. Then, I would have one pineapple each month to ripen and could use that pineapple to start another. Then, it would be free pineapples forever.

Stores will hand out the tops for free. Soil is easily gotten. Pots are free, so my plan was grand and cheap. It is a good plan...lol, just not doable for me right now. Besides, where would I store 24 plants that size?

I've thought something along the same lines! "I need to stagger them so that I don't just get one pineapple every two years but a succession of pineapples..." But, yeah where to keep them over the course of two years.....

Damnit Matt I am trying this same project and was going to tell you all about it! You ruined my surprise! Just kidding I'm not really mad, although I am jealous that yours looks so good. I am starting over because after several months I still am not developing roots and it smells rotten :( Glad yours looks so good enjoy your fruit in like 2 years! It really does take that long I read...